Coin-freed prepayment gas-meter



N0. 6l2,544. Patentedflct. 18, I898.

E. Lemmas. COIN FBEED PREPAYMENT GAS METER.

(Application flied 1m. 19, 1998. (No Model.) 3 Shasta-Shoat l.

WITNESS S: INVENTOH Ak M WW ATTORNEY.

LITHO.,WASH1NGTON u c a 9 m m .L c 0 d e n 8 l a P H n F F Du G F E 4 4 u 6 n N COIN FBEED PREPAYMENT GAS METER;

(Application filed Mar. 19, 1898.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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THE uunms Pznms cc PNOTO-UTHO, WASHINGTON. a.

No. 612,544. Patented Oct. 18, I898.

E. F. GRIFFITHS.

COIN FBEED PBEPAYIIIENT GAS METER.

(Application filed Mar. 19, 1898.) (No Mdel.) 3 Sheets-Shae"! 3.

WITNESSES: INVENTIOH W- XM Q BY XQ Q6 W A TTOHNEY.

THE Norms PiTERS (20., vuoraumou wmsmuutn'ouv u. c.

lhqr'rnn STATES ATENT @FFIQE.

EBENEZER F. GRIFFlTHS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

COIN-FREED PREPAYMENT GAS-METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,544, dated October 18, 1898.

A li ti fil d March 19, 1898- Serial No. 674,413. (No model.)

Toall whom, it may concern:

Beit known that LEBENEZER F. GRIF- FITHS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Freed Prepayment Gas- Meters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and use the same.

My invention relates to coin-freed prepayment gas-meters; and the'object of my improvement is to provide a simple, direct, and accurate mechanism that will transmit the required movement from the coin-receiver to the gas-meter and also to the registering device attached thereto.

To this end my improvement consists, among other things, of the following parts: first, a coin-receiver attached to the gasmeter and having therein a coin slot or passage-way into and through which is passed the coin to operate the device; second, a pivoted lever having thereon two free ends, 'the upper end being adapted to enter the upper part of the coin-slot after the coin has been placed therein, and thus prevent another coin from passing downward in said slot until the previous one has been ejected into the coinbox and the amount of gas paid for registered 011 the prepayment-dial, the lower free end of the pivoted lever projecting into the lower part of the coin-slot, so that the edge of the coin as it is pushed forward willimpinge against it and operate a pawl attached thereto,

thus unlocking the gas'vending mechanism; third, an L-shaped latch or cover placed over and in the top of the coin slot or passage-way to prevent the withdrawal of the coin after it has entered the coin-slot; fourth, an arm or lever pivoted at or near the bottom of the coin-slot and adapted to project therein in such a position that the coin can easily pass downwardly, but cannot be pulled backward for the purpose of unlocking the coin-controlled mechanism a second time with the same piece of money; fifth, a sealed fastening for the coin-controlled mechanism placed in such a position that no unauthorized person can tamper with or change the arrangement without it being discovered; sixth, an interchangeable gear-plate that may be easily and quickly exchanged for another when the price of the gas is changed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the top of a gas-meter having my improvement attached thereto, the cover of the meter being removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the meter and coin-box on line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inside view of the plate forming the front of the coin-receiver and upon which the coin-controlled mechanism is secured. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the valve-tripping mechanism. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation through the valve and valve-box. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a part of the meter and coin-receiver and showing the large dial that registers the amount of gas paid for. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the front of the coin-receiver on line y y of Fig. 2, showing the coin slot or passage-way and the coin-operating lever. Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the coin-box on line m 00 of Fig. 6.

A represents the outer casing of the meter,

which is of the ordinary construction.

A is the inlet-pipe, connected to the streetmain. I

A is the outlet-pipe, which connects to the house-pipes.

B is the coin-receiver, and B the face-plate B is an L-shaped cover on the top of the coin-slot, pivoted thereto in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

13 is the box into which the coin falls after passing through the coin slot or passage-way 0, formed on the inside of the face-plate, said slot being of the contour or shape shown in Fig. 7.

Cis a spur gear-wheel fitting loosely on the inner portion of the knob-spindle.

O is a plain disk fastened to the inner face of the spur-wheel C and also fitting on the knob-spindle. The disk 0 has on the periphery thereof a single locking notch or depression a and on the inner face thereof an extending pin a, that projects into a slot c formed in the ratchet-wheel C The ratchetwheel C having therein a long ratchet-tooth a and being fastened rigidly to the extreme end of the knob-spindle, has an independent movement or play back and forward equal to the length of the slot a or a little less than the large tooth a in the ratchet-wheel before any movement is imparted to the spur-wheel O and the disk D is a pinion on the small shaft 1) and meshing with the spur gear-wheel O. D is a spur gear-wheel also on the shaft b and rigidly attached to the pinion D.

D is a spur gear-wheel on the end of the shaft a that extends through the side of the meter and connects with the shaft (1 =b"is a ratchet acting upon the ratchet-wheel C and held in contact therewith by a snitable spring.

E is a lever ivoted at b and havin ri idly attached thereto the pawl E, the end of which slides upon the periphery of the plain disk 0 having therein the locking-notch a.

E is an arm or lever pivoted at b and having the free end bent over at right angles to the main portion, so that it will enter into the curved slot 12 and project a short distance into the coin-slot, and is for the purpose of forcing the coin down past the lower end of the lever E.

E is an arm or connecting-rod extending from the lever E to the ratchet-wheel C E is a small lever pivoted at b and having one end resting against and in contact with a pin b on the under side of the connectingrod E being held in contact therewith by the spiral spring 0, and is for the purpose of returning the lever E ratchet-wheel C and knob B to normal position after the passage of a coin.

c is a spiral spring holding the pawl E against the disk 0 and the lever E in the position shown in Fig. 7.

The shaft carrying the pinion D and spurwheel D is secured to a movable plate 13, screwed upon the face-plate B.

b is the door of the money-box, which is hinged thereto and secured by a lock. Immediately under the top of the door 11 is located the screw-bolt 19 that secures the coinreceiver B to the side of the gas-meter. hole through which this screw-bolt enters is countersunk sufficiently to allow a seal b to be placed over the head of said bolt, so that it cannot be removed without breaking the seal.

Thenumeral 1 represents the valve-box in side of the meter.

2 is the valve through which the gas is admitted to the meter in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5, 3 the Valve-stem, and 1 a stuffing-box surrounding the valve-stem. The valve 2' is connected with and controlled by the coin-actuated mechanism.

5 is a pivoted lever one end of which is connected to the valve-stem 3, the other end fitting into the slotted end of the pivoted lever 6, having therein the notch 8 and a lip Son the under side of said lever 6 at the forward end of said notch 8'. p

10 is a cam suitably mounted upon the shaft 11 and is provided with a notch 9 and a projccting lip 9 adjacent thereto. 12 is a gear-Wheel on the shaft 11 and fittinginto the cylindrical rack 13 and operated thereby.

14 is a screw-threaded shaft havin one end secured in a bearing formed in the support 15 and the opposite end fitting into a cylindrical bearing formed in the square end of the shaft of, that is journaled in the support 16 and fits into the cylindrical rack 13.

17 is a wheel on the shaft 14 and engaging with the worm 18 on the shaft 10.

20 is a wheel on the shaft 19, engaging with the worm 21 on the crank-shaft 22.

23, 24, 25, and 26 are the usual form of levers connected with the vertical shafts that connect with the bellows 0f the gas-meter.

The prepayment movement being constructed as shown and attached to the gasmeter the operation is as follows: The cover B of the coin-slot is raised in the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. The coin is then placed therein and the-cover closed j down, when the coin F will fall through the slot until it reaches the position shown in Fig.

7, with its edge resting against the bottom part of the lever E. The knob 13 is then f turned ,which movement will turn the ratchetwheel 0 and cause the connecting-rod E to transmit the motion to the lever E to which i it is jointedly attached. The continued tu rning of the knob B will cause the bentover end of the lever E to come against the coin i and force it forward. This movement of the coin forces down the lower end of the lever E, an d as the pawl E is rigidly attached there- :j to the end of said pawl will be drawn out of the locking-notch a in the disk 0 this allow- Eing the knob B and its attached wheel 0 to turn one full revolution and turn the pinion D and wheel D, operating wheel D upon the shaft a and correspondingly turning the shaft a and the cylindrical rack 13, moving 1, said rack forward on the screw-shaft 14, turning the wheel 12 and the shaft 11,which turns 1 the cam 10, operating the levers 5 and 6 and raising the valve 2 inside of the valve-box 1, thus allowing the gas to flow through said f valve into the house-pipes. The finger of the large prepayment-dial being secured upon the f shaft 11, it will turn when said shaft is turned, 5 and consequently register the number of feet of gas paid for by the coin that has passed into the coin box. As the gas is consumed the cylindrical rack13 is moved along in the ;opposite direction, turning the shaft 11 and j the camv 10 until the lip thereof enters the notch 8 in the slotted lever 6, and the lip 8 i on the under side of the slotted lever 6 enters the notch 9 in the disk 10, the forward end IIS of lip 9 abutting against the lip 8, forcing it down into the notch 9, :thereby raising the forward end of the lever 6, when the end of the lever 5 that is set in the slotted end of the lever 6 will be raised, thus depressing the opposite end of said lever and closing the valve 2, attached thereto, at the moment when all the gas paid for has been consumed.

Should the price of the gas be changed at any time, it is only necessary to remove the plate B, having thereon the pinion D, and wheel D, and replace them with another and similar plate having thereon a wheel or wheels of a size that will produce the required movement of the meter mechanism.

To make any change in the coin-actuated mechanism, it is necessary to remove the face-plate B. Before this can be done the door 19 must be unlocked and the seal?) broken and the screw Z2 removed. Consequently any change made by an unauthorized person would be detected as soon as the employee of the gas company came'around to collect the money from the coin-box. When the coin F is being forced past the lower end of the lever E, the upper end of said lever E is projected into the coin-slot 0, thus effectually blocking the way and preventing a sec- 'ond coin from passing down until the first one has fallen into the box B The pivoted lever F projecting a short distance into the coin-slot O and balanced, as shown in Fig. 7, it would be impossible to pull the coin back after it has passed below the forward point of said lever F. The L-shaped cover B effectually prevents the removal of the coin after it has been placed in the coin-slot,as the bottom part closes thesaid slot whenever the top part is raised. The coin-slot O has therein two raised tracks 0 c to facilitate the passage of the coin and allow the turned-over end of the lever E to get a secure hold of said coin. The slot Cb in the ratchet-wheel O is of sufficient length to allow said disk to turn far enough to move the lever E and force the coin F against the bottom part of the lever E hard enough to raise the connecting-pawl E out of the locking-notch a on the disk C and permit knob B with its spindle and connecting-wheels, to make one full revolution.

Having thus described my invention, what I'claim as new is.

1. A coin unlocking mechanism for vendin g-machines, consisting of the face-plate B, having thereon a coin-slot, the knob or handle B fitting on the outer end of a shaft or spindle that extends through the plate B, said knob or spindle having thereon the notched disk 0 and ratchet-wheel C the ratchet-wheel being rigidly fastened to the inner end of the knob-spindle and connected with the disk so as to have a limited independent movement before imparting motion to the disk 0 rod E connecting the ratchet wheel 0 to the pivoted lever E having one end projecting into the coin-slot, and a pawl E, the upper end of which is adapted to fit into a locking-notch in the disk 0 and the lower end connected with a lever projecting into the coin-slot and operated by the coin as it is passed through the slot, substantially as shown.

2. A coin unlocking mechanism for vending-machines, consisting of the face-plate B, having thereina coin-slot, the knob or handle B fitting on the outer endof a spindle extending through the plate B, the notched disk C fitting loosely on the knob-spindle and having therein a pin a, fitting into a corresponding slot formed in a ratchet-Wheel 0 that is fastened rigidly to the inner end of the knob-spindle, a rod E and the pawl E, attached to a pivoted lever the lower end of which projects into the coin-slotand is operated upon by the coin as it passes through, substantially as shown.

3. A coin unlocking mechanism for vending-machines, consisting of the plate B, having thereon a coin-slot, the knob B fitted to a spindle extending through the plate B, and having thereon the loosely-fastened notched disk C and the rigidly-fastened ratchetwheel 0 the notched disk and ratchet-wheel being so connected together as to allow alimited and independent movement of the ratchet-wheel,the rod E joined to the ratchetwheel 0 and coin-lever E3, the pawl E, attached to the lever E, having its upper end adapted to enter the coin-slot after the coin has passed below it' and the lower end of said lever projecting into the coin-slot so as to be acted upon by the coin as it passes through, substantially as shown and for the purpose described.

4. In a coin-freed vending-machine, the combination of the face-plate B, having therein the coin-slot O, and the extension B provided with the L-shaped cover B the knob B on the outer end of a spindle that extends through the face-plate, the notched disk C loosely fitting on the knob-spindle, the ratchet-wheel C fastened rigidly to the inner end of the knob-spindle and connected with the notched disk 0 so as to havealimited independent movement, the rod E connecting the ratchet-wheel O to the lever E having one end projecting into the coin-slot, the pawl E, and the lever E, rigidly attached to the pawl E and having its lower end proj ecting into the coin-slot and operated upon by the coin as it is forced through, substantially as shown and described.

' 5. In a coin-freed vending-machine, the combination of the face-plate B, having therein the coin-slot C, the knob B on the outer end of a spindle that extends through the face-plate, the notched disk C loosely fittingon the knob-spindle, the ratchet-wheel O fastened rigidly to the inner end of the knob-spindle and connected with the notched disk 0 so as to have a limited independent .wheel 0 to the lever E having one end projecting into the coin-slot, the pawl E, the

' lever E, rigidly attached to the pawl E, having its lower end projecting into the coin-slot and operated upon by the coin as it is forced through and the pivoted lever F, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a coin-freed vending-machine, the combination of the coin-receiver B, having therein the face-plate B, provided with a coin-slot O, knob B attached to a spindle having thereon the notched disk G ratchetwheel 0 rod E lever E pawl E, and pivoted lever E, attached to the pawl E, and having its upper free end adapted to enter the coinslot when the lower end is acted upon by the coin, substantially as described.

7. In a coin-freed gas-vending machine,the coin-receiver B, having thereon the face-plate B, provided with a coin-slot C, the knob B attached to a spindle having thereon the spurwheel 0, notched disk 0 and ratchet-wheel C the pinion D, meshing into the spur-wheel C, and having attached thereto the spur- 1 wheel D, meshing into the wheel D on a shaft operating the mechanism that opens and closes the gas-inlet valve, in combination with the rod E lever E and pawl E, attached to the pivoted lever E, having its lower free end adapted to enter the coin-slot and be acted upon by the coin as it is forced through, substantially as shown.

8. A coin-freed vending mechanism, consisting of the coin-controlled apparatus and the gas-controlling apparatus, each provided with ears or projections with openings therein which register with each other located within the coin-receptacle and secured together by a bolt or other suitable means, also located in the coin-receptacle, the end of said bolt being covered by a suitable seal that must be broken before access can be had to the interior of the vending mechanism, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EBENEZER F. GRIFFITHS.

Witnesses:

SAML. H. KIRKPATRICK, lHos. D. MowLDs. 

